Chapter 49: Absolute Gap
Is this the only way…?
Hachiman looked up at the blackboard in front of him. The results were already set in stone. All that was left was to tally up the scores, calculate the average, and determine the passing line.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the sharp clack of high heels echoed from the corridor.
"Everyone, please take your seats."
Chabashira-sensei stood on the podium, arms crossed, her expression as unreadable as ever.
Kushida raised her hand, asking somewhat impatiently,
"Sensei, has anyone in our class dropped out?"
Chabashira cast a fleeting glance at Kushida before focusing her gaze on the blackboard.
"The class average is forty-two. Dividing that by two gives us a passing line of twenty-one."
"Congratulations. No one has dropped out this time."
As she set down her pen, cheers erupted from Ike and the others.
Hirata let out a sigh of relief. Not just him—everyone had thought this plan was impossible when they first heard it. Yet, seeing it succeed felt almost miraculous.
No one caused trouble. Everyone followed the plan.
Chabashira stood at the podium, watching Sudo and the others celebrate. Then, she slowly clapped her hands.
The sound wasn't loud, but it was enough to silence the class instantly.
"Although I don't know how you came up with this idea—or how you managed to pull it off—it's clear that all of you succeeded in preventing any dropouts. It was the right choice. However…"
Her gaze sharpened slightly as it swept across the classroom.
"This is only the beginning. Next time, the school will likely introduce even harsher rules. You all understand that, don't you?"
As she spoke, Chabashira's eyes paused meaningfully on Hachiman. Horikita, noticing the teacher's line of sight, turned her head toward him as well.
We've been found out…
Before Chabashira could continue, Horikita stood up, her expression firm.
"Next time, we won't rely on this method again. We'll use our own abilities to ensure every student reaches the passing mark."
Her confident, striking tone immediately drew the attention of Sudo, Ike, and Yamauchi.
Seriously, that was so cool to say.
Hirata also stood up, echoing her words.
"Yes, Sensei. Next time, we'll make sure the entire class passes together."
What a beautiful vision…
Chabashira simply watched them for a moment before giving a faint, teasing smile.
"To be honest, I'm really surprised you'd say that."
Then she clapped her hands again.
"Well, this class meeting is over."
With her departure, the classroom's energy reignited.
Although Class D's scores hadn't improved much overall, since they were already at the bottom, it didn't have a major effect.
What mattered most was that Sudo, Yamauchi, and Ike had all managed to pass—their personal points would see a nice boost from this.
In short… that was fine. Just three peaceful years—that's all they really needed.
---
Later…
Sakura Airi quietly said, "Everyone managed to pass? In such a different way… it's really amazing."
Shinohara nodded. "Yeah, even though our class points this time aren't much, we still have ninety-seven CP now. We've narrowed the gap with Class C at least a little."
Yukimura pushed up his glasses. "No, you underestimate Class C. With Ryuen leading them, their methods are terrifying. They'll probably catch up to Class B soon."
Hirata smiled faintly. "Yukimura's right. Whether it's Class B or C, they're still far ahead. For now, we should focus on ourselves—then think about closing the gap."
Everyone nodded. But deep down, they all knew that in a school ruled by merit, the gap could only continue to widen.
---
Meanwhile, outside the corridor, the two leaders of Class A—Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei—stood side by side in an unexpected sight.
> Class A — 1004 CP
Class B — 663 CP
Class C — 492 CP
Class D — 140 CP
Katsuragi crossed his arms, analyzing the point chart before him with a serious expression.
"Class C's score increased again… that's Ryuen's work, no doubt. We need to stay cautious of him."
Sakayanagi, however, barely reacted. Her eyes flickered over the chart once before losing interest entirely.
To Katsuragi, their views might differ, but as fellow members of Class A, they shared one goal: to secure their class's future.
To Sakayanagi, though… all of this was dull.
No matter how much the lower classes fought, they could never surpass her—that belief was absolute.
If she had to name one thing that still piqued her interest, it would be becoming his only friend.
She turned away, her crutch tapping softly against the floor as she walked, her delicate body looking as though it might collapse at any moment.
"How boring…"
---
In Class D, Hachiman sat in the corner of the room, scrolling through the updated class points on his phone.
"Only 140 points, huh? Well, I guess that's all we can manage for now."
He knew how much effort everyone had put in to reach this point. Things were definitely better than when they started. But for Horikita, who stood beside him, this result was surely still hard to accept.
"Class A has a thousand and four points… even Class C has four hundred and ninety-two…" she muttered.
Despite the enormous gap, there was no hint of despair in her voice—only a burning determination to reach Class A.
Then she noticed his gaze.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked flatly.
Hachiman blinked, realizing he'd been lost in thought—his eyes had unconsciously drifted toward her face.
Whether it was his imagination or not, her cheeks looked slightly flushed, tinted by the warm glow of the sunset.
He quickly turned away, speaking calmly.
"To be honest, aiming for Class A sounds kind of unrealistic. The gap between us and them is nearly tenfold…"